Managing component ownership information across a corresponding life cycle

ABSTRACT

According to an embodiment, a method for registering a component is provided. The method includes receiving a request for registration of the component. The method also includes acquiring registration information of the component in response to the request by communicating directly with the component and exacting the registration information and modifying a registration entry associated with the component in a registration database according to the registration information.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to generally managing component ownershipinformation across a corresponding life cycle.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects or“things” embedded with electronics, chips, software, sensors, andnetwork connectivity (e.g., components), which enables these objects tocollect and exchange data. As IoT systems become popular, the makers ofvarious components related to IoTs can benefit from having a registry ofcomponent ownership and associated information about componentoperation. Current implementations of such registries are geared towardsautomatically collecting this information in a single registry of acomponent manufacturer, who uses the collected information fordiagnostics of the component.

However, the current implementations pose a challenge for containingregistration information for many component users who do not directlysell components to the end-user of these components. For instance, usersmay not want to go to the component maker for registration, since theend product may include many different components. In addition, currentregistry systems are geared towards registration of a product solddirectly to end user, and are not able to collect registrationinformation for components that are embedded within this product. Suchcomponents may go through a sequence of being embedded into largercomponents which eventually become part of the final product. As aresult, current registry systems become ineffective for its desiredfunctions of components that are embedded within other components.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, a method for registering a component isprovided. The method includes receiving a request for registration ofthe component. The method also includes acquiring registrationinformation of the component in response to the request by communicatingdirectly with the component and exacting the registration informationand modifying a registration entry associated with the component in aregistration database according to the registration information.According to other embodiments, the method can be implemented in asystem and/or computer program product.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of thedisclosure are described in detail herein. For a better understanding ofthe disclosure with the advantages and the features, refer to thedescription and to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an IoT delivered from cloud environment according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts an environment for managing component ownershipinformation in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 5 depicts a directed graph illustrating component ownership inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 6 depicts a process flow for managing component ownershipinformation in accordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 7 depicts another process flow for managing component ownershipinformation in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In view of the above, provided herein is a mechanism for transferringregistration of a component as the component proceeds through itslife-cycle stages. Generally, embodiments herein relate to a system, amethod, and/or a computer program production that maintain registriesfor different owners of a component. The registries can communicateregistration information as the component changes ownership changesaccording to predefined relationships between the owners. The registriescan employ a single request operation to identify the registrationinformation across all life-cycle stages.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 1 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 2, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 1) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and mobile desktop 96.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description of IoT delivered in a cloud computing environment,implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to acloud computing environment. Rather, embodiments of the presentinvention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any othertype of computing environment for IoT now known or later developed.

IoT delivered via a cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 3, illustrative IoT delivered via a cloudcomputing environment 350 is depicted. As shown, this environment 350comprises one or more cloud computing nodes 310 with which localcomputing devices embedded in Internet of Things, such as, for example,a smart watch 354A, a smart washer/dryer combination 354B, arefrigerator 354C, and/or automobile computer system 354N maycommunicate. Nodes 310 may communicate with one another. They may begrouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks,such as via the public Internet, a private Intranet, a home computernetwork, or a combination thereof. The nodes 310 may offer a variety ofservices for use by the different computing devices 354A-N which mayinclude functions such as registration, data cleaning, or data storage.It is understood that the types of computing devices 354A-N shown inFIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes 310and cloud computing environment 350 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Turning now to FIG. 4, an environment 400 for managing componentownership information is generally shown in accordance with anembodiment. FIG. 4 includes components A-B, a system 410, a device 420,a product 430, a local area network 440, an internet 450, a registrationservice 460, and a registration database 470.

The components A-B, the system 410, the device 420, and the product 430are the “things” of the Internet of Things (IoT) across the environment400. The components A-B themselves can be any hardware and/or software,such as a controller, a chip, a sensor, a network device, etc. or anycombination thereof, that are sold or change ownership between entitiesas a single unit. The components A-B can be considered base-tiercomponents. A base-tier component is an original hardware and/orsoftware that can be nesting into a next-tier component.

The system 410 can be any component that includes other components suchas hardware and/or software, such as a controller, a chip, a sensor, anetwork device, etc. or any combination thereof. In an embodiment, thesystem 410 can be a next-tier component that embeds and operates,manages, and controls the components A-B. An entity can take ownershipof the components A-B, the components A-B in another larger component(e.g., the system 410), or resell any combination of the components A-Band the system 410 to another entity. An entity could be an individual,a business, a corporation, a government agency, etc. or a combinationthereof which creates, modifies, buys, sells, resells or ownscomponents, or combinations of components.

In general, the components A-B and the system 410 can also implement acollection service, which can be hardware, software, or combinationthereof, to gather registration information. For example, components mayhave the ability to collect the information while others may not.Different types of collection mechanisms to collect information include,but are not limited, to collecting information by reading a bar-code tocollect serial number information of a component, reading another typeof code (e.g., such as a quick response code to collect informationabout a component), reading the information in a non-volatile storagearea of an electronic component to collect information, prompting a userto enter in registration information using a display embedded in system410, providing a user with an application of a smartphone to enterregistration information etc. The registration information can include,but is not limited to, internet protocol addresses, domain names, serialnumbers, media access control address, identifiers, a set of variablesindicating operations of the components A-B and the system 410,attributes of the components A-B and the system 410, etc. Further,registration information can include a unique identifier for eachindividually and/or the combination of the components A-B and the system410, plus any other information, such as its location, status, etc. Thecomponents A-B and the system 410 can include network capabilities, suchthat each can communicate amongst each other or to any externalcomponents/systems (e.g., the registration service 460 and theregistration database 470). The components A-B and the system 410 canalso communicate, e.g., the registration information, to any externalcomponents/systems individually or on behalf of one another.

The device 420 can be an upper-tier component or system that includeshardware and/or software and that receives the system 410. The product430 can be a top-tier component or system that includes hardware and/orsoftware and that receives the device 420. The product 430 can be canfinal product, which is utilized by a client. A client can be an entitywho is not going to embed into the final product and/or furthercomponent. The network 440 and the internet 450 can be any communicationstructure (as described above) capable of supporting communicationbetween the elements of the environment. The interconnections of theenvironment 400, which are represented by the dashed-lines, can besupported by network interfaces of the elements of the environment 400or by network interfaces available via some other mechanism present inthe environment 400.

The registration service 460 can be a computing device, component, orsystem that includes hardware and/or software capable of performingregistration operations. The registration service 460 could run in acloud computing environment as described earlier. Due to theconnectivity of the environment 400, the registration operation canprocure the registration information directly, or through the abovenoted collection services, from the components A-B and the system 410(and the environment 400). In turn, the Components A-B can be configuredto communicate to registration service 460 and provide the registrationinformation (e.g., the registration service 460 can be invoked by anycomponent A-b of the environment 400 that has a processor capable ofrunning software and has a way to interconnect to the registrationservice 460). The registration database 470 can be a computing device,component, or system that includes hardware and/or software capable ofstoring, maintaining, and communication the registration information.The registration service 460 and the registration database 470 arerepresentative within the environment, as these elements can indicateone or more of the same. In order to determine which component willcommunicate to the registration service, one or more of the componentscan maintain information about component ownership as described furtherin FIG. 5.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a directed graph 500 illustrating componentownership is depicted in accordance with an embodiment. The directedgraph 500 models life-cycle changes of the components A-B, the system410, the device 420, and the product 430. Each Node A-I in the directedgraph 500 represents a life-cycle stage. A life-cycle stage is acombination of at least one component and an entity, such that eachentity associated with the node is in ownership of the at least onecomponent. In one embodiment, a life-cycle of a component is a sequenceof ownerships that the component goes through (e.g., may be referred toas an ownership graph). An ownership graph can indicate components aboutwhose registration information ought to be collected and about whichownership information need not be collected. The ownership graph can bemaintained by any component, such as the electronic controller or any ofthe other components described in FIG. 3.

In the directed graph 500, each arrow indicates a change of ownership toanother entity. Each arrow can also indicate an embedding of a componentfrom a previous node into an upper level product (e.g., a change isstate). Each Node A-I can an implementation of the collection servicethat collects the registration information of that node. Each arrow canfurther indicate a passing of registration information upstream alongthe direct graph 500. In this way, the collection services can supportthe registration operation at any stage along the directed graph 500.Also, in the directed graph 500, the leading of multiple arrows into anode (e.g., as shown for Node C) represents a combining of downstreamcomponents and information at the upstream node (e.g., the Node Creceives and includes all components and registration information fromNodes B, D, E). Note that, in the directed graph 500, some of the NodesA-I includes components that are capable of registration and these nodescan be referred to as registration nodes. The registration nodes areindicated with a star.

An example of building a combination washer/dryer will now be describedwith respect to FIGS. 6-7. In this example, the component A can be anelectronic controller; the component B can be a power stabilizer; thesystem 410 can be an embedded processor; the device 420 can be a washer;and the product can be the combination washer/dryer. The washer canfurther include a chassis and other components that are mechanical anddo not include electrical communicative abilities.

At Node A, the chassis for the washer (device 420) is manufactured by afirst company (entity E_(A)). The chassis is provided to second company(entity E_(B)), who white-labels the chassis at Node B. Entity E_(B) canthen resells the white-labeled chassis to other companies, such as athird company (entity E_(C)). In addition to receiving the chassis fromentity E_(B), entity E_(C) receives the electronic controller (componentA) from a forth company (entity E_(D)) represented by Node D and thepower stabilizer (component B) from a fifth company (entity E_(E))represented by Node E. Entity E_(C) at Node C assembles washer (device420), which at this stage does not include the embedded processor (thesystem 410). The electronic controller and the power stabilizer arecapable of automatically performing the collection service andsupporting the registration operation individually, on behalf of eachother, on behalf of the chassis, and/or on behalf of the assembledwasher. Thus, the collection service and the registration operation canbe performed by the electronic controller and the power stabilizer atNodes D and E at any time or at Node C once the washer is assembled.

Entity E_(C) can supply the washer to sixth company (entity E_(G)),which makes a combination washer/dryer at Node G. To make thecombination washer/dryer, the entity E_(G) also obtains a dryer from aseventh company (entity E_(F)) at Node F. The dryer also has theembedded processor that is capable of performing registration throughthe environment 400 (as indicated by the star). The embedded processoris configured to receive and operate the electronic controller and thepower stabilizer. The combination washer/dryer can be sold by entityE_(G) to a wholesaler (entity E_(H)) at Node H. The entity E_(H) canthen provide the combination washer/dryer to a retailer (entity E_(I))at Node I. Clients, in turn, can buy the combination washer/dryer fromthe entity E_(I) and put the combination washer/dryer in a home (e.g.,in a network 440).

An example of a registration operation at Node D will now be describedwith respect to a production of the washer/dryer combination in view ofFIG. 6. FIG. 6 depicts a process flow 600 for managing ownershipinformation of the electronic controller in accordance with anembodiment. The process flow 600 begins at block 610, where theregistration service 460 and the electronic controller communicate arequest for registration of the electronic controller. The request canbe initiated from the electronic controller or by the registrationservice 460. In one embodiment, the electronic controller can initiatethe request when it is powered on in an installation. In anotherembodiment, the electronic controller can simply connect with theregistration service when it is powered on, and the registration serviceinitiates the registration request after consulting the ownership graphas described in FIG. 5.

At block 620, the registration service 460 determines a set ofcomponents to collect registration information for using the ownershipgraph. For example, the electronic controller doing registration canconsult an ownership graph to determine the set of components aboutwhich registration information that needs to be sent to the registrationservice 460. In alternate embodiments, the ownership information may bemaintained by the registration service 460 which instructs theelectronic controller of the components about whose the registrationinformation needs to be collected. In other embodiments, a set ofpredefined software programs, or a set of external business rules may beused to determine the set of components about whom ownership informationought to be collected.

At block 625, the registration service 460 acquires registrationinformation by using collection services of different component. Forexample, the electronic controller obtains the registration informationusing an included collection service or using a collection serviceprovided by another component. Such registration information containsdetails of different component whose registration information can besent to the registration service. The registration information of onecomponent may include information from the registration information ofanother component. For instance, a name of an owner and a location ofinstallation can be determined for each component from the informationfor the overall product in which the components are included. Theelectronic controller uses a life ownership graph to determine the typesof registration information that should be copied from one component toanother. It can do so using a variety of mechanisms, including but notlimited to copying attributes like location information from onecomponent to another, using a set of business rules to determine how tocombine registration information, using an embedded software program tocombine the registration information in a pre-programmed manner, etc.

At block 630, the registration service 460 acquires registrationinformation of the electronic controller in response to the requestreceived in of block 610. To acquire the registration information, theregistration service 460 can communicate directly with the electroniccontroller through the interconnection of the environment 400. At block650, the registration service 460 adds a registration entry for theelectronic controller in the registration database 340 according to theregistration information.

In view of the above, the registration operation can implementthroughout the life-cycle of the washer, when the capability ofregistration is available to any of the entities at a particular NodeA-I. For example, at any stage, the registration of a top levelcomponent is the only one that performs the registration operation, andis responsible for relaying the registration information about the otherembedded components. In turn, relationships between the entities and thecomponents can be maintained on a bilateral basis, and policyrestrictions on sharing registration information can be enforced by theregistration service 460 and the registration database 440. Further, ifa component configuration cannot be changed by an upper-tier component,a redirection/rewrite option can be provided at the upper component, orother remedial action taken.

In an embodiment, the registration service 460 can be a plurality ofregistries, each of which can correspond to the entities of the NodesA-I (or life-cycle stages). These different registries can be physicallydistinct, or be physically one with logical distinctions. Management ofplurality of registries will be described.

In an example scenario, a first component can be a chip. The chip can bemanufactured by a chip maker, which reflects a first life-cycle stage ofthe chip. The chip can then be embedded into a second component, such asa network card produced by a card manufacturer. This embedding into thesecond component reflects a second life-cycle stage of the chip. Thechip is a base-tier component, and the card is an upper-tier componentor second-level product.

The network card can be embedded into a third component, such as asystem (e.g., a motherboard) by a system manufacturer, which reflects athird life-cycle stage of the chip. The system can then be furtherembedded into a forth component, such as a device (e.g., a computer) bya device marker, which reflects a fourth life-cycle stage of the chip.The system is an upper-tier component or third-level product, and thedevice is an upper-tier component or top-level product.

In this way, the ownership of the chip moves from the chip maker (e.g.,a first entity) to the card manufacturer (e.g., a second entity) to thesystem manufacturer (e.g., a third entity) to the device maker (e.g., afourth entity). Each entity can include a corresponding registry forcollecting and managing the registration information of all thecomponents at a particular life-cycle stage. Each entity can thenregister all the components at a particular life-cycle stage (accordingto the process flow 400) with their corresponding registry as the chipmoves into their ownership.

In another example scenario, a life-cycle change can occur with respectto a processor that is incorporated into a smart graphics card, which isincorporated into a music system or a GPS system that is incorporatedinto a car. The ownership of the processor moves from a processormanufacturer (e.g., a first entity) to a smart graphics cardmanufacturer (e.g., a second entity) to a marker of the music system/GPSsystem (e.g., a third entity) to a car manufacturer (e.g., a fourthentity). Each entity can include a corresponding registry for collectingand managing the registration information of all the components at aparticular life-cycle stage. Each entity can then register all thecomponents at a particular life-cycle stage (according to the processflows herein) with their corresponding registry as the chip moves intotheir ownership.

In the above example scenarios, the registration operations can beperformed at the particular life-cycle stage to provide registrationinformation to the registries of the entities. The registrationinformation can be marked by a unique identifier that is specific to thecomponents, the entities, etc. The registration operation can providethe registration information via a single registration request. In anembodiment, the single registration request is invoked by thehighest-tiered component at a particular life-cycle stage.

For example, when the product 430 (e.g., the combination washer/dryer,the computer, the car) is procured by a client and connected to anetwork 440, the registration operation can be performed for allcomponents of the product 430 by the product 430 itself. In anotherexample, after the combination washer/dryer is by entity E_(G), theembedded processor can perform the registration operation (e.g., ifthere is network 440 access at Node G) as this is the highest-tiercomponents.

In another example, after the washer is assembled by entity E_(C),either the electronic controller or the power stabilizer can perform theregistration operation (e.g., if there is network 440 access at Node C)as these components are on the same tier. In addition, the registrationinformation collected at Node C by the collection service can be basedon predefined relationships between the entities E_(B) through E_(G).For instance, the predefined relationship can be based on adetermination by entity E_(C) as to whether entity E_(C) will provideany registration information to entity E_(G). If registrationinformation is provided, E_(C) can determine as to what will be thegranularity of registration information provided (i.e. per componentUUDI, on a group, aggregate only, etc.). E_(C) can also determine as towhat is the registration information that will be reported back fromentity E_(B) to entity E_(A) (e.g., identity of entity E_(G), diagnosticinformation, location, etc.).

The predefined relationship can be embodied in a hardware or software ofany component. In this way, while a component may be capable ofcommunicating registration information to a corresponding registry, acurrent owner of that component may not want to share registrationinformation (e.g., the owner of the components may or may not want tohave corresponding registration information go to previous owners), assharing registration information may violate some regulation orcredential set by the current owner.

Additional issues can also arise when bootstrapping components toestablish network connectivity to a corresponding registration service,as registries can become conflicted with having several owners trying tomanage registration information concurrently. For example, the chip maybe hard-configured with an internet protocol address or domain name thatgoes to the registration service of the chip maker and thus subsequententities may be forced to connect to the registration service of thechip maker (e.g., the chip is configured to allow communication only tothe chip maker).

To address the above, an embodiment utilizing one registration requestto account for all of the components will now be described with respectto FIG. 7. FIG. 7 depicts another process flow 700 for managingcomponent ownership information across a corresponding life cycle inaccordance with an embodiment. In the below description, references maybe made to the above FIG. 7 and embodiments for illustrative purposes.

The process flow 700 begins at block 710, where a registry receives arequest for registration. If the life-cycle stage of the washer/dryercombination is at Node G, this request can be the one registrationrequest effective for the components A-B (the electronic controller andthe power stabilizer) and the system 330 (the embedded processor). Therequest can be initiated from the embedded processor. The request canindicate a request type, such as component request or system request.

A component request is a request by a base-tier component or by anupper-tier component that does not currently incorporate othercomponents. The component request can identify the electronic controlleror the power stabilizer. The component request can also identify theembedded system independent of the electronic controller and the powerstabilizer.

A system request is a request on behalf of multiple components by anupper-tier component. The system request can identify the embeddedprocessor (e.g., an upper level product) on behalf of as least one ofthe electronic controller and the power stabilizer.

At block 715, the registry identifies the request type of the request.If the request type is the component request, then the process flow 700proceeds to block 720. If the request type is a system request, then theprocess flow 700 proceeds to block 725.

At block 720, the registry acquires registration information bycommunicating directly with a component, such as only communicating withthe embedded processor.

At block 725, the registry acquires registration information bycommunicating directly with a component on behalf of all components. Forexample, the registry can communicate with the embedded processor andreceive registration information for the electronic controller, thepower stabilizer, and/or the embedded processor.

In this way, when the registry communicates with the embedded processor,the registration information of the electronic controller and the powerstabilizer can be protected according to the predefined relationshipsbetween the owners/entities of these components (e.g., only the neededregistration information is extracted without extracting proprietaryinformation other components to maintain the security of these othercomponents).

At block 750, the registry modifies a registration entry in theregistration database 340 according to the registration information.

In an embodiment, when a component is capable of registration, thatcomponent can be configured with an address of a registration service.The registration service address can be determined by a businessrelationship between the different entities. When the componentregisters with that registration service, the registration informationcan be then relayed either forward or reverse (or both) along thelife-cycle stages that re maintained by the registration service (e.g.,sent to entities corresponding to previous or subsequent nodes). Theregistration information that is passed can then be selected by theregistration service on the basis of an agreement between the links ofthe life-cycle.

Further, on registration time, a device including the component can beinstructed on where to send different information that is available inthe device to different services. The different information can beeither relayed by the registration service to other services, or thedevice may be redirected to provide some information to a differentsite. This different site can be a different registration service or adifferent site dedicated to collection information (e.g. diagnosticinformation from a component).

Furthermore, when the final product that contains the component isinstalled in the user premises, the final product can contact theregistration service designated by the final life-cycle stage. Thecomponent can be configured, prior to the installation within the finalproduct, the identity of this service. The registration service thenpasses the registration information along the segment of the life-cyclestages as needed.

Technical effects and benefits include maintaining registration as acomponent progresses through life-cycle stages. For example, byreceiving the registration information, the registration service 460 andthe registration database 470 in turn can provide the technical effectsand benefits automating information about acomponents/cards/systems/etc., tracking warranty information, collectingstatistics about usage, and performing diagnostics. Thus, embodimentsdescribed herein are necessarily rooted in computing environment toperform proactive operations to overcome problems specifically arisingin the realm of registering components.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of onemore other features, integers, steps, operations, element components,and/or groups thereof.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for registering a plurality ofcomponents of an appliance or automobile computer system, the pluralityof components comprising an embedded processor as an upper-levelcomponent and one or more lower-level components included within theupper-level component, the method comprising: receiving, by a firstregistration service of a plurality of services, a request forregistration of the embedded processor and the one or more lower-levelcomponents, wherein the request is initiated by the embedded processorbeing preconfigured to send different available registration informationto different services of the plurality of services, wherein theregistration information comprises internet protocol addresses, domainnames, serial numbers, media access control address, identifiers, a setof variables indicating operations of the plurality of components andthe appliance or the automobile computer system, and attributes of theplurality of components and the appliance or the automobile computersystem, wherein the one or more lower-level components comprise acontroller and a power stabilizer, wherein the request is based on apreconfiguration of the embedded processor comprising an address of thefirst registration service after a collection service of the embeddedprocessor accumulates first and second registration information;identifying a request type of the request for registration, wherein therequest type is one of a component type and a system type; acquiring, bythe first registration service, the first registration information ofthe embedded processor and the one or more lower-level components inresponse to the request by communicating directly with a networkinterface of the embedded processor and extracting the firstregistration information directly from the one or more lower-levelcomponents if the request type is a component type and directly from theone or more lower-level components on behalf of multiple lower-levelcomponents if the request type is a system type, wherein theregistration information comprises a unique identifier of the embeddedprocessor, wherein the extracting of the first registration informationcomprises only extracting a needed portion of the first registrationinformation without extracting proprietary information of the one ormore lower-level components to maintain a security of the one or morelower-level components; sending, by the network interface of theembedded processor to a second registration service of the plurality ofservices, the second registration information of the embedded processorand the one or more lower-level components based on the preconfigurationof the embedded processor comprising an address of the secondregistration service, the second registration information beingdifferent from the first registration information; modifying, by thefirst registration service, a registration entry associated with theembedded processor in a registration database according to the firstregistration information; and passing, by the first registrationservice, the first registration information of the embedded processor toa third registration service of the plurality of services that isdifferent from the first registration service and at a different sitededicated to collection information, wherein the passing of the firstregistration information comprises passing selected portions of thefirst registration information on a basis of an agreement, wherein anownership life-cycle is maintained in the embedded processor and arepresentation of the ownership life-cycle of a plurality of componentsis maintained in the first registration service.
 2. A computer programproduct, the computer program product comprising a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium having program instructions forregistering a plurality of components of an appliance or automobilecomputer system, the plurality of components comprising an embeddedprocessor as an upper-level component and one or more lower-levelcomponents included within the upper-level component, the programinstructions executable by processors of a plurality of services tocause: receiving, by a first registration service of the plurality ofservices, a request for registration of the embedded processor and theone or more lower-level components, wherein the request is initiated bythe embedded processor being preconfigured to send different availableregistration information to different services of the plurality ofservices, wherein the registration information comprises internetprotocol addresses, domain names, serial numbers, media access controladdress, identifiers, a set of variables indicating operations of theplurality of components and the appliance or the automobile computersystem, and attributes of the plurality of components and the applianceor the automobile computer system, wherein the one or more lower-levelcomponents comprise a controller and a power stabilizer, wherein therequest is based on a preconfiguration of the embedded processorcomprising an address of the first registration service after acollection service of the embedded processor accumulates first andsecond registration information; identifying a request type of therequest for registration, wherein the request type is one of a componenttype and a system type; acquiring, by the first registration service,the first registration information of the embedded processor and the oneor more lower-level components in response to the request bycommunicating directly with a network interface of the embeddedprocessor and extracting the first registration information directlyfrom the one or more lower-level components if the request type is acomponent type and directly from the one or more lower-level componentson behalf of multiple lower-level components if the request type is asystem type, wherein the registration information comprises a uniqueidentifier of the embedded processor, wherein the extracting of thefirst registration information comprises only extracting a neededportion of the first registration information without extractingproprietary information of the one or more lower-level components tomaintain a security of the one or more lower-level components; sending,by the network interface of the embedded processor to a secondregistration service of the plurality of services, the secondregistration information of the embedded processor and the one or morelower-level components based on the preconfiguration of the embeddedprocessor comprising an address of the second registration service, thesecond registration information being different from the firstregistration information; modifying, by the first registration service,a registration entry associated with the embedded processor in aregistration database according to the first registration information;and passing, by the first registration service, the first registrationinformation of the embedded processor to a third registration service ofthe plurality of services that is different from the first registrationservice and at a different site dedicated to collection information,wherein the passing of the first registration information comprisespassing selected portions of the first registration information on abasis of an agreement, wherein an ownership life-cycle is maintained inthe embedded processor and a representation of the ownership life-cycleof a plurality of components is maintained in the first registrationservice.